Lien On Home

by kay
(delaware)

I have a wage garnishment. I have another collector calling me from a payday loan -- not even sure if they are legitimate. they have not sent me anything in writing. i asked for documentation. they have not provided that. today there was a woman outside of my house and i asked her what she was doing and she said she was taking pictures of my neighbors house for real estate, but not sure if she was telling me the truth. can they put a lien against my house even though the house is not in my name but my husbands because i know that you can only have one garnishment at a time in delaware.

Comments for Lien On Home

You raised several issues in your question. First, the payday loan. If you borrowed money from a payday lender, but you are not sure that you owe the money the lender is asking you to pay or if you are not sure that you even got a payday loan, the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) gives you the right to have the debt verified or confirmed. The best way to get that verification is to put your request in writing and to send your letter via certified mail with a return receipt requested. (Make a copy of your letter for your files.)

The collector is legally required to respond to your letter and if he does not, he has violated the terms of the FDCPA. However, here's the catch, to be protected by this provision of the law, you must make your request within 30 days of your being first contacted by the debt collector. In other words, if you make it on the 31st day, the collector is not legally required to verify the debt.

Second, you are concerned about the collector putting a lien on your home. That could not happen unless the collector first sued you for the money and won the lawsuit. Even then, if you still owe money on your home, the collector would end up being a secondary lien holder because your mortgage lender is the first lien holder, and being a secondary lien holder is not the best position for him to have because if your home is foreclosed on or if you decide to sell your home, the mortgage lender would be first in line to get paid and if there was any money left over after it received as much as possible toward the balance due on your mortgage, the collector would receive what it was owed. If there was no money left over, the collector would not end up with anything.

Given your circumstances, I recommend that you consult with a consumer bankruptcy attorney right away. The attorney will evaluate your financial situation and let you know whether bankruptcy is a good option for you. If you were to file for bankruptcy, any lawsuits that have been filed against you by your creditors would be stopped immediately, the wage garnishments would be stopped, and you would have time to figure out how to handle your debts. Also, it's likely that you will be able to get rid of some of the debt. Click here to schedule a free consultation with a bankruptcy attorney.